Of Kunai and Zanpakutou
by jav094ex
Summary: I'm back! I finally got back into this story! I rewrote a large part of it, as well as fixing a bunch of little things along the way! Plus, I divided it into chapters! I'm working on new material to add, so read it and let me know what ya think!
1. The Mission of DEATH!

"WHAT!?" the exclamation shook the room. "Whaddyou mean I have to go back?" The familiar blonde loudmouth in orange voiced his protest to Tsunade in her office.

"Naruto! Shut up!" Tsunade droned, "God, I swear I've gone deaf from all your screaming!"

"But", Naruto protested, "Why? I'm working A-Rank missions now! I'm too old to go back to school!"

"Not that anyone could tell by the way you act!" She snapped. "Naruto, pay attention to what I'm trying to tell you and let me finish this time!"

"Fine", Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms and plopping down into a chair adjacent to the Hokage's desk.

"Anyway", Tsunade continued, "as I was saying, I've selected certain teams to go on an extremely important mission."

"Yeah", Naruto interrupted, "the mission is going back to school!"

"Naruto", Tsunade said calmly, "this is a mission and you will treat it like one! Besides, she smirked, this is no ordinary school."

"I know!" He yelled, "it's Konoha's school of ninjutsu! I know because I've already been there and graduated!"

"No, no", Tsunade shook her head. "You're going to a special school to acquire abilities outside the average ninja's arsenal."

"Why?" He retorted, "I've got training to do! I don't have time to go to some school to learn… basket weaving!"

"I assure you Naruto, this is no ordinary mission, and they are not ordinary schools, where you'll learn the best... basket weaving techniques around."

Naruto searched for words with which to continue the argument, but was interrupted by the door behind them opening. Through it came Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, bowing to Tsunade.

"Good, you're all here. Uchiha, if you will, I've had some trouble convincing Naruto to accompany you on this mission."

Sasuke nodded and answered by smacking Naruto on the back of the head, murmuring "idiot." Sakura giggled, as she often did when Sasuke disciplined Naruto, which happened often.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, aiming a punch at Sasuke, but missing.

Sakura noticed Tsunade watching with an amused look and waiting patiently, so she elbowed her teammates, signaling for them to stop.

"I assume the messengers I sent told you the general mission parameters, correct?"

Sasuke and Sakura nodded, Naruto looked dumbstruck. As soon as his messenger had told him the mission involved school, Naruto had taken off running to debate the issue with the Hokage.

"Good", said Tsunade, ignoring Naruto's blank look. "I will further debrief you on the mission." She continued lecturing, "as you know, a ninja is specially trained and equipped to handle any situation."

All three of them nodded their agreement.

"Since the attack on Konoha we suffered through last Chuunin Exam, something has been nagging me. Now I know what. During that time, we had to call on other villages' ninja for help, otherwise we never would've made it."

Again, the three nodded, though somewhat reluctantly, they all remembered that time.

"I know it has been a long time since then, but I have a bad feeling about the future. I don't think we can take another attack like that, with Konoha still in disrepair and some of our strongest ninja gone. So I made a decision to take various teams, while you're still young and can learn quickly and well, for special training. You will be Konoha's last line of defense if anything like Orochimaru's raid ever happens again. Don't make me remind you that we lost the last Hokage to that attack (Naruto tensed at the mention of the Fifth Hokage), I don't want to lose anyone else. Do you understand me so far?"

Three heads bobbed up and down again.

"But Tsunade-sama", interrupted Sakura, "what's that got to do with the mission? We have to go to school to be guardians of Konoha?"

"In a sense. I have been thinking on this long and hard, trying to find a way that we can have a superior defense force so that we won't ever be in danger like that again. I think I may have found the solution."

Naruto, his curiosity aroused, asked "What is it?"

"I want to train Konoha's young ninja to be more than just ninja, my dream is to create a new kind of super- ninja with abilities normal ninjas will never know."

"You aren't gonna mutate us into horrible super- monsters, are you?" Asked Naruto, horrified.

"You idiot," Sasuke breathed. "Of course not."

Tsunade looked like she was about to burst out laughing, but she regained her composure.

"No, Naruto, nothing as drastic as that. " _Though, _She thought, _it might be worth a try…_

"Then what?" Asked Naruto, rapidly getting impatient.

"Your mission… is to go to a place called Soul Society."


	2. The Way To Kana's

"Your mission is to go to a place called Soul Society. Kinda like heaven." Continued Tsunade hesitantly. She looked at them each, trying to judge what their reactions would be.

"WHAT?" Yelled Sakura, "you're gonna kill us?!?"

"No, young miss Sakura. You'll be going there alive." _Should've known she'd think that._

"We're going to heaven?" Asked Naruto doubtfully, "who are we gonna train with? God?"

"Hell no!" Laughed Tsunade. "Call it by its name; Soul Society. If there is a God, it's not there. You will be training with the samurai of death, known as grim reapers in some circles."

"Okay, now I'm really lost," Naruto said "we're going to train with Death? Is that even possible?"

"Ughhh," she said, annoyed. "No, kiddies, they're not Death, and there _is_ more than one of them. A lot more. You'll be training in a school for Death Gods, the title given to samurai of death that graduate from this school."

"Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed! "I'm gonna be a Death God!"

_Yeah, NOW he likes the idea._

"Hold on," said Sasuke with a thoughtful look, "how are we going to get to Hea- err- Soul Society if we're not dead?"

"Don't worry about that right now. First, you have to accept the mission."

"Accept it?" Sakura asked, "We have a choice?"

"This time and this time only," assured Tsunade. "This mission is my first priority. I can't have anything slowing it down, so I won't make you go unless you know you're up for it. Truthfully, I'm hesitant enough about this as it is."

"Alright!" Exclaimed Naruto despite Tsunade," let's get going right away! Of course we're all going!"

Sasuke nodded to Tsunade, "This should be fun."

Sakura, seeing the two so eager, made up her mind to go also.

"Excellent!" said Tsunade, clapping her hands together with delight. "Here you go then" she handed each a sheet of paper with a list of items to pack. "I expect you all in my office ready to go tomorrow morning at 6:00 sharp!"

"Uhh, better make it 7:00." Said Sakura. "Naruto's not the best morning person."

"Heyyy" whined Naruto. "At least I don't take an hour to get pretty for _Sasuke-kun__!"_

Sakura turned bright red and smacked Naruto as hard as ever, then stomped out of the room angrily.

"Idiot." Sasuke sighed, casually strolling out too.

Mumbling to himself, Naruto stalked outside as well, humiliated.

"Well well," Tsunade thought after they had left, "it'll be interesting, if nothing else."

That night, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all packed the necessary equipment, half a dozen kunai, a few empty scrolls for notes, 45 yards of wire, 2 dozen shuriken, any spell scrolls they might need, and some emergency food packets. Tsunade had mentioned on the paper that they didn't need to worry about camping out or eating, so not to bring a sleeping bag or a portable stove. She also instructed to leave enough room to tie several extra packages onto their bags. This mysterious request was followed without question.

The next morning, as predicted, Naruto showed up last at Tsunade's office.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Sakura asked sarcastically, "didn't have enough time to pamper yourself for Tsunade-sama?"

"Nope." Naruto responded unfazed. "I was so excited I couldn't get to sleep last night!"

"Good to hear you're excited", Tsunade said, suddenly appearing at her door. She too carried a pack on her shoulder.

"You're coming with us, granny?"

"STOP calling me granny, twerp!" Shouted Tsunade, pounding a fresh set of bruises into Naruto. "And no, I'm only taking you there, I won't be staying."

"Taking us where, exactly?" Asked Sasuke, "where is this Soul Society place?"

"It's impossible to explain", she answered simply. "You'll see once you get there." With that she opened the door and left, motioning for them to follow.

Tsunade led the way through the streets and out the main entrance of the village.

"The other teams have Jounin assisting them. Even Kakashi's got his hands tied right now. But for your mission, it's necessary for me to accompany you personally. "

"Wow!" Naruto gasped with wide eyes, "we get a special mission? Awesome!"

"A mission is just a mission, idiot." Sasuke cut in.

The group walked through the dense forest surrounding Konoha with Tsunade up front, Sakura and Sasuke trailing her, and Naruto last.

Together, they soundlessly marched through he forest for several hours, so long that Naruto was just about to open his mouth to complain when they ran into a wide, dirt road that cut through the forest.

Tsunade walked right past it.

"Hey granny!" He said, pointing down the road, "wouldn't it be easier to just follow the road?"

"Not where we're going." She responded. "We're taking another way."

Naruto and company followed silently, wondering where they could be going that couldn't be reached by road.

A while later, Naruto was again complaining about the long walk when Sasuke stopped in front of him abruptly and he almost walked into him.

"Hey, why'd you-" Naruto began, but Tsunade up ahead was motioning to a small boulder wedged between two trees. One tree was astonishingly old, reaching up into the treetops with curled knots dotting its trunk. Beside it was a fresh sapling, still with a faint lime-green tinge, covered in vines. The rock between them had an odd symbol scratched into it, but the real surprise was-

"That thing's glowing!" Sakura exclaimed, excited.

"Very observant." said Tsunade sarcastically. "Alright, all of you grab onto the rock on three, and don't let go until I say so. Ready?"

"Ready?" Naruto asked, "Ready for wh-"

"THREE!"

All of them shot their hands out and latched onto the rock. Even Naruto managed to grab a hold quickly. This was a very good thing because as soon as they touched the glowing rock, light gushed from the bright symbol on it, and the entire scene around them exploded with a glare unlike anything they had ever seen.

The light was too bright to see, but they were too scared of what would happen if they let go of the rock to shade their eyes. The sensation, however, was anything but scary. It felt almost like weightlessness, except for a peculiar weighted-down feeling on their legs. It was anyone's guess how long they stayed in that limbo, but everyone knew at once when it was over.

All too suddenly, their feet were slammed into solid ground, throwing them off balance. Only Sasuke and Tsunade managed to avoid falling entirely, Sakura gracefully avoided the fall by rolling when she hit ground. Naruto, however, fell on his butt most un-gracefully. Getting up, they joined Sasuke in looking around the new landscape.

Sakura was the first to say aloud what they had all been thinking:

"Did I hit my head when I fell or what?" Her olive green eyes marveled at the bright sun that illuminated the contours of the land. It looked like the outskirts of a mountain, and they had landed on a nearby hilltop, affording them a good view of everything for miles around.

"Granny Tsunade," Naruto began, "how did we get here? We were just in Konoha forest, and now we're in the middle of nowhere!" He frantically looked around for signs of the missing forest. "Where are we?"

"Calm down, Naruto. Haven't you heard of a transportation jutsu?"

"But you didn't use any seals! How can you activate a jutsu with a rock?"

"Don't worry about that now, we're almost there, anyway." Once more she took the lead.

The trip down the hill they had landed on didn't take long, and the team quickly realized they were headed for a village they hadn't seen from the hilltop. Nearly swallowed by the hills and mountains around, it wasn't surprising.

It wasn't the most luxurious of places, almost smothered by the earthy hills surrounding it, and much smaller than Konoha.

"This village isn't hidden", Sasuke noticed. "This isn't a shinobi town?"

"No," answered Tsunade. "This is just a common village, a trading post, if I remember correctly."

"But granny", Naruto started-

"Not now Naruto." She said, "Enough questions. I don't know that much about where we're going, but it'll all be explained to you when you get there. Jeez, I'm getting a headache!"

Not wanting to upset her, the young ninjas took instead to looking around at the little town.

There were a lot of people out on the streets for such a small place, but none seemed to be paying any special attention to anyone else. Probably better that they not notice Konoha ninja strolling around, anyway. Busy pubs lined the street, and greasy windows gave them a brief glimpse inside them. Drunkards fighting, men playing cards, and a short, wiry man playing the piano could be seen in one bar. Next door, a shabby store stood, and a salesman standing outside greeted them.

"Hello there, ladies and gents! Can I interest you in a brand new…" He trailed off as the group strolled past, ignoring him.

As they walked, they saw other streets veering off from the main one, and they all seemed to be filled with stores upon stores.

"Man," Naruto said, "this really is a trading town isn't it?"

Tsunade nodded but said nothing. They passed even more stores and came upon an enormous sign that read: Kana's Palace of Used Goods, this way! A red arrow pointed off in one direction.

Tsunade followed the arrow and Naruto, against his better judgment, asked: "Are we going to Kana's place, granny?"

"You'll find out when we get there."

They passed several more signs identical to the first, each leading to Kana's Palace. After spotting the fifth sign, they saw a huge round building with a curved cone for a roof partly hidden behind a score of trees.

Once Naruto got closer to the mammoth building, he craned his neck to see all the way to the top.

"I'd hate to fall from up there." Sakura silently agreed.

Sasuke said: "You've been dropped on your head enough as it is."

Naruto raised his fist to come back at Sasuke, but Tsunade hurriedly grabbed him by the shoulder and made him stand up straight.

"Hello, Kana!" Said Tsunade suddenly, "These are the ones I told you about!"

In the now-open doorway stood a young woman, leaning against the frame. Long black hair curled around her shoulders, and her shady gray eyes took them each in.

"They sure ain't all you made 'em up to be."


	3. Senkai, The Only Way To Travel!

"They sure ain't all you made 'em up to be." She scoffed, eyeing them up and down again.

Tsunade, well aware of Naruto's temper, hurriedly assured her that there was more to them than met the eye.

Sakura leaned over and whispered into Naruto's ear.

"It sounds like she's selling us off, doesn't it?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"Shut up you two. We're trying to make a good impression here!" Sasuke whispered savagely.

Naruto made a face, but obediently shut his mouth.

Kana too put on a face, like maybe she smelled something she didn't like, but turned and led them into her giant home. Inside, the place most resembled a flea market: there was junk and piles of once-useful stuff lying all over the place. Sakura wondered how she could move around between the debris.

Kana laughed, looking at Sakura. "I'm going to sell or scavenge most of this stuff, it won't be here for much longer."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at her, then at Sakura, who stared back with her mouth gaping open.

Kana moved on, and Sakura whispered shrilly: "She read my mind!"

Naruto walked on, dismissing it as another of Sakura's exaggerations.

"So, is this the school for death-people?"

"Death-people?" Kana said quizzically, looking to Tsunade.

Tsunade sighed, "He means Shinigami."

"Oh! No way kid!" She laughed, "I'm no Death God!"

Dumb as Naruto was, he could figure out that if they weren't at their destination, Tsunade wasn't one to take leisurely time off.

"So why are we here? Weren't we going to soul… something?"

Tsunade sighed deeply and said slowly: "Yes Naruto, we're going to Soul Society. Please just shut up and follow."

Naruto followed, he didn't like to argue with Tsunade when he could avoid it. She was after all, monstrously strong with matching temper. They were led down a curving staircase that grew more obscure the farther down they went. The dark stairs quickly opened out onto a larger room, probably larger than the room above it, lit by electric lamps hung on cables randomly along the ceiling. As they looked at the far wall, the room seemed more like a huge hallway, with even more junk cluttering the walls and lining the doorways.

Naruto and co. proceeded through this room with mouths agape, staring at the towering mounds of mysterious objects around them.

For fear that the towers of junk would collapse on them, they all moved hurriedly to the other side of the room. There was a simple black door there, unmarked and unadorned. In fact, the door looked to be almost new.

Tsunade held the door open for Kana and her team, and they all poured into the next room.

The newest room could have been described as a dungeon. It looked, smelled, and felt musky and damp. Yet another door was across from them, the view of it obstructed by the gigantic… thing in the center of the room.

"How big IS this place?" Naruto asked amazed.

Kana laughed. "It ends here, kiddo. This is as big as it's gonna get." she jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the structure set up in the room. It looked like a giant picture frame, but perfectly square and it was a stony gray color throughout.

Naruto curiously came closer and reached out to feel it.

"Don't touch that!" Warned Kana and Tsunade simultaneously. Tsunade got to Naruto first and slapped his hand away.

"Ow!" He yelped. "Why not? What's so special about this square thingy?"

"That "square thingy" Kana said, is called the Senkai Gate, and it's my family's heirloom. Legend has it that if you touch it without permission, you'll see the face of Death as he comes for you."

"Really? Can I have permission then?"

"No!" They yelled, again at the same time.

Tsunade rubbed her temples in frustration and instructed them to come closer but not to touch the frame.

"What I'm about to say is very important, so commit this to memory. This gate you see before you is your mission; it is what will take you to Soul Society, where you will learn the arts of the Shinigami. Clear so far?"

"Crystal." Answered Sakura confidently. She knew Sasuke would remember, and they would both need to remind Naruto later.

"Alright, gather your things. This is where we part ways." said Kana.

"What? You're leaving?"

"Of course," answered Tsunade for her. "I did say I wasn't going with you did I not? This is it, from here on, you'll be following a death captain's orders."

She saw that Naruto was going to ask a question and added: "a team captain is the leader of a Shinigami team. Think of them as Jounin if it helps. They're organized similarly to Konoha ninja, so you shouldn't have a problem with the concept."

Naruto shut his mouth and hitched up his backpack, anxious to get going.

"Alright, stand back, you three." Ordered Kana.

She rolled up her sleeves and placed her hands on the stone frame.

Naruto gasped. "Granny! Didn't she just say touching that thing would kill you!?"

"Yes, but it's _her_ family's possession, she's not in any danger." She rolled her eyes.

Naruto let out a breath of relief, then gasped again when he saw what was happening.

Inside the frame of stone, two giant wooden doors had appeared out of nowhere. Naruto was beginning to think that everything about this mission was going to be huge. The double doors looked old, unlike the small door leading to the current room. There were strips of hard iron bolted to the doors to reinforce them, but they didn't have doorknobs or knockers. How did they open?

The answer came quickly. Kana was muttering something under her breath, presumably the technique that was creating the doors, while she pushed her hands harder against the cool stone surface. The doors cracked open an inch, letting out a huge moan from the ancient hinges attached. Kana put more force into the jutsu and the door answered by budging another couple of feet. It was now wide enough for a single person to fit through one at a time.

Then opening doors showed an undulating black and white view behind them, and a slight wind began to blow. Only it was coming _from_ the doors! Or, at least, whatever was behind them.

"Use your chakra!" Yelled Tsunade over the rapidly rising winds. "Plant your feet on the ground!"

Team 7 obliged and rooted themselves to the spot. The winds emanating from the doors howled with their intensity, Kana seemed to be the only one unaffected, thought she was focusing too much on the door frame to notice anyway.

"Okay!" Shouted Tsunade, "When I give the signal, I want all of you to jump through the doors at the same time! Side- by-side! It's imperative that you not touch the frame as you're jumping through either, or you'll die!"

Naruto wasn't fully sure what was going on, it had all happened too suddenly, but he knew what he had to do. They all did.

Kana forced the doors open even more, so that they were almost completely open when she looked at Tsunade and nodded.

Tsunade's face tensed. "Now! Go!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, as if afraid they wouldn't hear her over the gusts of violent wind.

They took off running, using their chakra to keep on the ground. Sasuke timed himself with Sakura, and Naruto with him to make sure they would jump through at the same time.

A few steps from the stone frame, they jumped, Naruto was still a second late.

Sasuke and Sakura sailed harmlessly into the middle of the black and white void, while Naruto was too close to the edge. He curled his knees to his chest in midair to avoid touching the frame, and made it through. Barely.

The three experienced the same feeling they had felt before when they touched the shining rock, weightlessness and a hollow feeling coming from their stomachs, the weighty feeling on their legs was gone. Sasuke realized they were being teleported and grabbed Sakura and Naruto by the arms to make sure they all landed in the same place.

Or time, or dimension, or whatever they were going to land in. The three clung to each other for dear life, looking straight ahead at the black and white abyss growing bigger and more forceful by the second. They were sucked helplessly in, forced to allow the portal to take them where it may.


	4. Arrancar On The Roof

Kurosaki Ichigo ran through the bustling people-filled streets of the human world, his zanpakutou, Zangetsu, clinked on his back, speaking:

"It's close now, get ready."

"Gotcha." Responded Ichigo. They'd been following a strange Hollow's reiatsu all night, but it had managed to stay just ahead of them all the while.

Ichigo shoved himself through people in his haste. They didn't notice anything anyway: ghosts tend to go unnoticed.

"There!" Ichigo exclaimed, pointing upwards to a building top. On it crouched the small Hollow, traditional white mask in place from where he could see. It didn't notice them, preoccupied with staring up into the sky.

Ichigo skipped from building to building until he was on the same one as the monster. He drew Zangetsu and slowly crept up behind it. He wordlessly attacked, trying to catch it by surprise.

The Hollow caught the thick blade with a single hand, never removing its eyes from the sky.

Stunned into silence, Ichigo yanked back the sword and lashed out again. A huge wave of reiatsu roared outwards toward the new enemy.

"Wait Ichigo! He's not-" Zangetsu's warning came a second too late.

The Hollow disappeared before Ichigo's eyes, dodging the blast entirely.

"Dammit!" Cursed Ichigo, whirling around. He'd gotten a brief glimpse at the Hollow before he'd disappeared. Brief, but long enough to see that he only had half a mask, zigzagging down his brow, over his nose, and past his mouth, and a scar-shaped slit covering one eye.

_Arrancar._ Thought Ichigo. Glancing around, he found him again. Looking skyward no less.

"Yo! Arrancar!" Challenged Ichigo.

"Leave me in peace." Said the Arrancar in a low, almost bored, voice. "We have no issue, you and I. Let me alone with this pearl of a moon."

Ichigo stopped, unsure of what to think. Here before him was the most powerful of enemies he had encountered, an Arrancar. Yet…this one didn't want to fight him. He was obligated, as a Shinigami, to annihilate all Hollows, Arrancar or not. But this…

"This is wrong." He voiced. "Why aren't you trying to destroy Death Gods like all the others? Isn't Aizen making you fight us? Isn't he your boss?"

"Hah!" Chuckled the Arrancar. "That fool regretted making me into an Arrancar the instant he did it. He misjudged me, as you do, and paid the price. I have no master, no "boss" as you say."

Silence followed. Then-

"Who the hell are you?" Asked Ichigo, tensed for danger. _Strong enough to take on __Aizen__…_He thought, _definitely not __good__ for me._

"I had a name," Answered the Arrancar, "they called me Uchiha Itachi, but I've more or less renounced it now."

The name was nothing special to Ichigo, but Zangetsu gasped, the sound echoing in Ichigo's head.

_What? You know this guy? _Thought Ichigo.

_By name._Answered the sword quickly. _This is about to get very ugly Ichigo, you have to flee._

_What? Run away!? Why? You can't be serious! Don't start-_

_No. _Zangetsu interrupted. _Not run away. Just get out of the way!_

Ichigo obeyed instantly.

_Zangetsu__ knows what's best_, he thought. A second later, a surge of icicles needled down from the sky and covered the building top.

Ichigo's head snapped up just in time to see a decorated wooden sliding door _clack_ open out of thin air a ways above. Out leaped Hitsugaya Toushiro, his sword gripped by the frozen dragon-arm he employed. Close behind, Byakuya flashed into the night air. The two were quickly followed by numerous nameless officers, who quickly surrounded the Arrancar.

Ichigo stood dumbstruck for the second time that night. His eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.

_If they're here, they must be after him…_


	5. Fire, Ice, and Cherry Blossoms

_If they're here, they must be after him…_ Ichigo's mind raced as he considered it. _To have these many captains after a single Arrancar, he must be __somethin__' else!" _Then-

As trains of thought often are, his was interrupted by the flash of Kidou blazing to life, lighting up the sky itself. The compressed energy quickly snaked after its target as Itachi shot out of range in a blur of movement.

The scene was vivid with black kimono whistling through the air as every Shinigami except one raced after him, swords held in waiting hands. A wave of them launched themselves bodily at the Arrancar, issuing the throaty cries of battle.

Itachi turned to face his pursuers without fear. His clawed hands blurred together for a second, followed by a jet of fire bursting from his open mouth.

The Shinigami barely knew what happened before they were consumed by the searing flames. The stream of fire, white-hot at its center, whirled around with a mind of its own, endlessly circling the battalion of Death Gods.

Ichigo stared, unwilling to believe what he'd seen. _What was that?_ He thought frantically, _don't you need a long-ass chant for that kinda stuff? What is __this guy?_ He didn't need any Kidou training to know that an attack like that was enough to wipe out most Shinigami.

The flames dissipated, and charred husks fell to the roof, ashes scattered everywhere. Cinders blew in the wind, giving the whole area a deep red color.

Toushiro stood carefully from the ashes, once-opaque wings of ice opened to release him from their shelter. He stepped forward from the safety of his soot-covered ice to glare at the tranquil Arrancar.

Pink cherry blossoms gathered nearby as Byakuya reappeared unharmed. At his side lay the only subordinate he'd been able to save, unconscious at the moment. Byakuya stepped to Toushiro's side, brushing some ashy residue from his sleeve.

They stood together, facing Itachi in the reddish light of the glowing, floating embers. He looked back as if innocent.

Toushiro glanced at the ground, littered with the ashes of what was once a band of mighty Shinigami. He flinched away, focusing on the perpetrator instead.

"You're not a Shinigami." Byakuya declared boldly. "How is it you can use Kidou magic? Tell me who you are!"

"Kidou?" Asked Itachi, voice strangely muffled by his mask." I don't know what you're talking about. There's no magic involved here, just Ninjutsu. Know your enemy, Shinigami."

"Ninjutsu?" Whispered Byakuya to Toushiro, who shrugged back and said: "I didn't know Arrancar could do anything like that without releasing their zanpakutou." They both duly noted the lack of a zanpakutou on Itachi.

"So, you're strong…_and_ crazy." Toushiro said, trying to force a move out of this mysterious opponent.

"Well… you're half right." Itachi Chuckled, closing his eyes slowly, with purpose.

He whipped them open again to glare at the two. Red cornea embraced them, locked on to the Death Gods' own eyes. They could only think for a moment, before the unthinkable happened.

Byakuya fell to his knees, eyes glazed over from unthinkable pain. His mouth was still moving, muttering some gibberish, as he stared unseeing at the ground.

Toushiro didn't fare any better, ice wings cracked and shattered around him as he lost consciousness. Pink flower petals bled into the ground around him as they disappeared.

_What…the…hell…?_ Thought Toushiro, bits of ice clinking to the floor around him, gradually eating up his world until he blacked out.

To Ichigo, the scene had whipped by in an instant. Before he had time to act, the Arrancar called Uchiha Itachi had silently disappeared into the crimson semi-darkness, leaving dead and wounded strewn about the rooftops of the blissfully ignorant city below.


	6. Welcome, Ninjas!

Naruto opened his eyes, trying to remember what had happened and where he was.

The first thing he saw was Sakura pulling back her hair, tying it into a ponytail.

His heart gave a quick gallop, then calmed as he saw Sasuke nearby peering over his shoulder.

"About time you woke up, idiot."

Naruto grumbled : "g'morning t'you too, loser."

Once Naruto had rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he saw that they were in a large room, and he was on a one-man bed that wasn't particularly comfortable.

What really caught his attention were the tapestries hanging from the ceiling a hundred feet up that said: " Soul Society's," and in big, bold text, the Japanese symbol for Death God.

"We're here! We made it!" He said, amazed.

"What, you doubted we would?" Sakura asked.

"N-no, it's not that. I- wait a sec. Is this heaven?"

"I doubt it," said Sasuke. "The lack of puffy white clouds kinda gives that away. Anyway, we should sit tight until whoever's in charge comes to get us."

"Yeah, probably right," nodded Sakura.

"Forget that!" Naruto put in, "let's check this place out! This Sole Sorority place!"

"It's Soul Society, doofus," corrected Sasuke.

"Whatever, let's go look around!"

"Are you crazy!?" Yelled Sakura, "we just got here, and you already want to piss off the Death God people?"

Naruto shut up. It wasn't often that he went against Sakura's orders. And she gave out plenty of them.

"Speaking of us getting here," Sasuke asked to change the subject, "how did we? Last thing I remember is jumping through the Senkai Gate and all that light…" He trailed off, waiting for an answer that didn't come.

"Alright, so we don't know."

"Maybe it's like that glowing rock back in Konoha forest." interjected Naruto, "Felt kinda the same."

"Hey!" Said Sakura, a thought striking her. "We're in Soul Society, doesn't that mean we're dead? Or ghosts or something?"

Sasuke stood next to Naruto, looked him up and down, and punched him in the head.

"Nope, he's solid."

"Hey!" Naruto objected, "fine, lemme test you then!"

"No need, I already did. Thanks anyway, dead-last."

"You little-" Naruto reared his fist back, about to extract his revenge, when he was interrupted. He must have been getting tired of interruptions.

"E-excuse me!" Came a squeaky voice.

They all looked where the voice had come from, to have their eyes fall on a small figure in the wide doorway. It was a young boy, not much older than perhaps Konohamaru, except he wore the black robe of a Shinigami, and at his hip hung a katana.

The boy bowed nervously at them and stammered: "My name is Yamada Hanatarou, I'm assigned to collecting you and helping you through your first steps in Soul Society."

"Hi, I'm Haruno Sakura," she said, trying to give the boy confidence.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He said simply.

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the man destined to be Hokage!"

"Hoka-what?" Asked the boy, confused.

"Hokage," Naruto began the lengthy explanation: "It's the str-"

Sakura clapped her hand over his mouth.

"Don't worry about it, it's not important. Why don't we get going?"

"O-okay, please follow me."

Naruto gaped at the insult, but grumpily followed the boy.

Hanatarou turned out to be very jumpy, he started at any little noise, and a squeaky floorboard made him jump almost to the ceiling.

They were led up vast flights of stairs to reach the top floor of the Shinigami compound, next over several hanging-plank bridges, and into another tower from there.

"Amazing!" Naruto said, wide-eyed. "How big is this place? It's way bigger than Konoha!"

"I don't know about Konoha," said Hanatarou with a hint of pride, "but you've only seen the third and top floors of two buildings. There are seven districts, two to three buildings respectively, and each building has two to seven floors. Plus the top floors, bridges that connect everything, and Central Room 49. There's also some unused courtyard space too, for recreation. You do the math. Oh and there's the training lodge, that's where we're going."

Naruto's jaw couldn't have hung any lower.

"W-wow. Are we gonna get maps to this place? Cuz I can tell you right now I'm gonna get lost."

Sakura choked back a laugh.

Once Hanatarou got over his initial shyness, he turned out to be quite a chatterbox.

"So, you guys are ninja? You're not exactly what I expected. Uh, no offense…"

"None taken," assured Sakura. "Trust me, we're ninja alright. How about you? We didn't expect to find anyone so young here, only… old dead guys."

He laughed; "you don't have to be old or dead to be a Death God! That'll all be explained to you later, though. By the way, has anyone told you why you're here?"

"Nope, all we know is we're here to go through training!" Said Naruto, proud of this remembered fact.

"Hmm…" the boy muttered. "Training, huh? I would've guessed you were trained already."

"We are! We came here for Death God training!" Naruto continued excitedly.

"You can do that? Far as I know, no one has ever volunteered to be a Death God."

"Don't ask me, I thought you would know." Naruto said disappointedly.

"Sorry, I have no idea. I'm sure one of the captains will explain."

He took them to the ground level to continue the tour: "We're in the third district right now, it's pretty much empty except for some housing complexes over there." He said, pointing to an apartment building a few blocks away.

Directly opposite the apartment complex was an enormous maze of walled-in channels and streets.

"Whoa, what's with the maze?" Asked Naruto.

"Oh those are streets. They're walled in and hard to navigate unless you know how. I think it's to keep intruders confused, but nobody knows for sure. That's just how they are, I guess."

"Strange place for sure." Commented Naruto.

"I got lost at first. But it's easy once you figure it out." Said Hanatarou, ignoring him completely.

The four of them walked into the maze of streets. Luckily Hanatarou knew where he was going.

Sasuke slowed down so he could whisper to Naruto: "Hey, do you feel something weird in the air?"

"Yeah, you too? I thought it was a side-effect of, like…dying."

"No, I don't think we're dead. But this energy… it feels a little like it, but it isn't chakra. What is it?"

"I don't know, should we ask Sakura?"

"No, don't tell her yet. You know how she gets."

"Yeah." He knew all too well. They resumed walking, pondering this newest mystery.

They continued walking until they reached another building, this one partly hidden by Sokakyou Hill. They stopped at the entrance to this building, an oaken pair of double doors with brass strips for handles.

"Before we go in, let me tell you that even though you are in Soul Society, you remain in your living bodies." Said Hanatarou, stating the obvious. "But you're going to have to part with them for a while. In here, you'll meet a weapons master, one of the elite Shinigami here. He'll start you off on your training."

"Uh….. What do you mean "part with our bodies"?" Naruto stammered nervously.

"You'll see." He said brightly, holding the door open for them to enter.

Naruto took the lead, boldly walking in. Hanatarou took up the rear.

Inside, they saw a short, low corridor with framed pictures of presumably famous captains and fighters in them. Past it, there was one big room with mats covering the floor. A think red carpet covered the hallway and let them into the big room.

In the corner of this room, a man sat on a chair, blowing smoke rings lazily out the dome-shaped ceiling, where open windows allowed them out.

"Arano-sama, they're here." Announced Hanatarou.

Arano glanced down at them, and smiled childishly.

"Perfect!" Said the man happily, getting out of his chair. "That's all for you, Yamada Hanatarou, you can go."

Hanatarou looked like he might complain, but humbly shuffled away without a word. Sakura at least waved goodbye as he turned.

"Good day, ninja of Konoha! My name is Arano Kazama, I'm one of several weapons masters residing in Soul Society. And you are?" He said inquisitively.

"Uchiha Sasuke", began Sasuke.

"I'm Haruno Sakura." She said, bowing deeply to him.

"Name's Uzumaki Naruto, ninja extraordinare!" Said Naruto, giving an exaggerated bow.

"Excuse me Arano-sama, asked Sakura shyly, but how can we leave our own bodies to train? Hanatarou said something like that."

"Please, just call me Arano. Hanatarou wasn't supposed to say anything about that," he said, glaring at the door he'd just left through. "But, since he did, I might as well fill you in! To part with your body means simply that we extract your soul from your physical vessel." He said calmly, "it can be returned to your body later of course, and your bodies will be preserved in the meantime. Assuming you make it, that is."

"Make it?" Repeated Naruto, "make it through what?"

Well, normally a person dies before becoming a Shinigami, and then goes through the Academy here to obtain their ranks. However for special cases like you three, who are all alive, our Research and Development Department has come up with a different…"

"slightly experimental," He added under his breath,"… method for turning you all Death Gods!"


	7. To Be A Death God

Arano tactfully avoided their horrified looks and continued, clearing his throat: To train as a Shinigami, you must first be a Shinigami. And that means staring death in the eye."

"Then let's do it." injected Sasuke, having a particular affinity towards death's eyes. He continued, "What do we have to do?"

"Hold on there," said Arano with a wave of his hand. "You all have to agree to this, agree that you want to be Shinigami and that you know that you are risking your lives."

"Wouldn't be the first time," sighed Sakura. "Sign me up!"

"I'm in." Joined Sasuke.

"Count on me too!" Added Naruto enthusiastically.

"Great! Exclaimed Arano, "We were supposed to welcome you first, but seeing how excited you are… Well, that and we can't have you change your mind later! He laughed boisterously.

He ignored their petrified faces again.

"Be prepared kids, you may not make it out alive. Or…quite yourselves." His face had lost the friendly crease lines from laughter, and all traces of a smile were gone. He was all business now.

"You wouldn't be the first to die on me…"He said this as he pulled a heavy-looking gauntlet from the folds of his robe. He clapped it on his hand and looked at the three ninja.

"You're about to experience Soul Society's worst. I'll ask you one last time: are you ready?"

"YES!" Protested Naruto, "just do whatever you're gonna do o-"

He was unable to finish the sentence, because a strong, gauntleted fist smashed into his face. Naruto flinched, but oddly enough, felt no pain. He opened his eyes to a startling sight: he was looking down at his body, lying pale and limp on the floor. On his chest, a thick chain linked him to his body lying below.

"What the hell did you do to me?" He yelled outraged at Arano.

"Nothing yet." He answered, moving over next to Sakura. She was too shocked to notice the palm thrown at her. Sakura fell out of her body and it too went limp and crumpled to the floor.

Next came Sasuke. His mind racing, he was torn between trying to stop the newest trial, and accepting it.

He chose the latter. After Arano's strike, Sasuke stepped out of his body as it plopped face-first onto the padded floor.

"Good!" Said Arano loudly, as if afraid he wouldn't be heard. The gauntlet went back into his robe as he rubbed his wrist. "Okay, next! To your right, you'll notice a couple doors. Each of you pick one and go to it."

Indeed, to their right, there was another hallway with numerous doors leading through it. They each chose a door and obediently walked to it, chains clinking loudly.

"Now, Arano went on, "you're about to be in head-splitting pain, the likes of which you have never felt, and probably never will again; pain of the mind and soul, not the body. In those rooms, you'll come face-to-face with your inner demons, so be prepared for the most unimaginable agony you can imagine.

He said all this as a bored phone operator might, and faster than any of the three could follow.

"Before we begin, I'll tell you what to do. The second you start to feel anything, anything at all, open your door and get inside quick. Close the door behind you, it'll lock on its own."

"Wait, what?" Asked Naruto, "you never said anything about head-splitting pain! Isn't that a little harsh? And what's with this chain? It won't let go of me, how are we supposed to shut the door with these things in the way?" He rattled his chain in protest.

"Like this." Arano answered. Arano's zanpakutou was in his hand before Naruto could think to stop him. Arano brought it straight down, slicing through Naruto's chain with no resistance.

Naruto's real body jolted, then flopped back down onto the pads. Naruto, astral form, was immobile also.

"C-can't…move…"he muttered, his teeth were chattering, though it wasn't cold.

Suddenly, he was rocked with sensation.

He felt like he was on fire, his skin tingling from the heat. Then he was cold, and he felt his legs and arms go numb instantly.

Next up was the pain. Immeasurable, intolerable pain, just like Arano had described.

Naruto clenched his stomach, it was throbbing! He tried to yell, scream for help, but found he couldn't speak. He opened his eyes and saw Arano there, through his tears.

He was shouting, but he couldn't hear a thing. He frantically pointed at the door, and Naruto understood. He clawed on the handle, and lunged inside. Arano slammed the door shut behind him.

Naruto had been expecting someone to be there, but saw nothing but white walls. The pain in his head finally took him and he collapsed on the floor, between life and death, consciousness and sleep.

Naruto fell over and over again in his mind, each time losing more clarity than before. Before long, he was a writhing mass, enshrouded in darkness and in the cold damp. The intense pain began to ebb as he tried to control himself. He somehow managed to stand up, and realized he really _was_ in darkness! A dark cave, to be precise. Oddly enough, there were walls at the sides, like a long corridor, but endless…

"How'd I get here?" He asked himself. His chest was sore, and he realized that the chain that had been so long before was now only a few feet from his skin. It burned like it was alive, and moved of its own accord.

"**Come boy.**" Came a ghostly voice from all around him.

"H-how-" he began, then changed his mind. "Who are you? Show yourself!" He shouted to the pitch above him, where any normal cave, or corridor, would have some sort of ceiling. Not this one, as his shout came echoing back seconds later.

A minute passed. Then another. And finally, a figure manifested.

A statue slunk out of the darkness on four stony paws behind Naruto, and kept still.

"**Come.**" It repeated.

Naruto whirled around. For all his ninja training, some huge thing had come out of thin air and taken him completely by surprise! Puzzled, and dreadfully curious, Naruto crept closer.

He was only a step away from the statue when his chest exploded with fresh pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHHHHHH!!!!" Naruto screamed himself hoarse, down on his knees, clutching at his chest. He wished that he could tear his own heart out just to end the miserable agony!

"**Hurry**!" Spoke the statue through an unmoving mouth of stone. "**Come closer!**"

Naruto fervently obeyed, crawling up to it and hugging the cool rock to his body.

Time stood still, and a chunk of stone came off the statue, revealing a flaming surface beneath. Naruto's pain had left him again, so he could see clearly again. For the first time, he looked up at the statue and grimaced.

Naruto expected never to open his eyes again. But when he did, he was surprised by a startling light. He was back in the locked room, white walls enclosing him.

The chain on his chest was barely inches away from reaching him. A growing feeling of dread told Naruto that if that happened, it wouldn't be good. Naruto's vision blurred and the statue from the corridor stood before him. In his pain, Naruto had been unable to see and think straight. The gray stony exterior was gone, replaced with orange-red fur of dancing flames. Deep-set eyes spoke of unspeakable things, but it's most astonishing feature was its tail. There were nine.

"No…"Naruto gasped, "you!"

"**Hello, boy.**" He responded, "**surprised****, are we?**"

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked it, barely believing his own eyes.

"**You are dying, boy. I cannot let you**** perish****, or risk losing my vessel.**"

"I…won't…die…"Naruto gasped, he found that he couldn't breathe. "I…can't… AAARRGHHHH!!!! "The chain on his chest was completely gone, the only remaining link was chewing on his bare skin, tearing the fabric of his soul. The vision disappeared entirely from his left eye.

Surprised, he reached up to feel it. The entire left side of his face was covered with some smooth surface, and it wouldn't budge no matter how badly he wanted to rip it off. It seemed a part of his face, somehow.

"Ahhh! G-god! Help me!! Some-Agh! ANYONE!! AAGHHHH!!!" The pain was past endurance, Naruto had been broken. He knew he would soon be driven insane, and probably kill himself to end the suffering.

The nine-tailed fox just sat patiently, watching with imitated curiosity.


	8. Side Effects

Naruto's face was now partly hidden by a bone-white mask that had kept growing and infesting the rest of him. At this point, the fox stood up and padded over to Naruto, a blubbering lump of pain.

He pressed his muzzle against the boy's chest, right where the chain was eating away his heart. He firmly held it there, and the boy's hand reached up to hold him.

Naruto felt a warm sensation wash over him where a cold emptiness had been. The warmness turned hotter, then scaldingly so. Naruto's whole body blazed with the intense heat of the fox.

The fox backed away some as Naruto stood. The pain was gone, in fact, he felt better than ever!

"**It is done.**" Said the Nine-Tails. "**Look at yourself now, boy.**"

Naruto looked down at himself and gaped. His favorite outfit was gone! In its place he wore a black robe with a white sash for a belt, the outfit identical to Hanatarou's. Well, almost.

It seemed the fox had a flair for uniqueness, and had synthesized an orange strip in the shape of a fiery line running down both sleeves of Naruto's new kimono.

"**You are now a Shinigami, boy. It is time for the final step.**" He held out his paw for Naruto to shake.

Naruto hesitated, remembering all the problems the nine-tails had caused for Konoha…and him.

"**Do not fe****ar me. I am your only choice now**"

Naruto chose to go with his gut.

It's better that I have friends here, he thought. Not enemies. He took the fox's paw, but couldn't let go when he tried.

"**Do not be alarmed,**" Said the fox, licking its other paw. "**We are being bonded.**"

"B-bonded? I don't know if-"

"**Too late.**"

The fox's outline faded, and his fur lost its flames, instead gaining a blinding glare. His paw became impossibly hard and rigid in Naruto's hand. Its entire shape was changing, focusing. The Nine-Tails shrank more and more, until he was as tall as Naruto's waist. The smaller the fox became, the brighter he got, until Naruto had to shut his eyes. He could feel the fox changing through his outstretched hand, and was struck by a sudden heat wave, radiating from their connection, through his hand and its paw.

The scorching heat stunned him, when without warning, it all stopped. The dizzying heat, the energy flowing freely through the air, the fox's paw, all gone.

Naruto opened his eyes yet again to see that the fox was gone, paw and all. In his hand was the handle of a sword, the blade resting on the floor where the fox had just stood.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "Nine-Tails? Where'd ya go?" He looked around.

Again finding nobody, he turned instead to examining the katana in his hand. The hilt was wrapped in a deep black, velvety fabric, and a single red claw hung close to the hilt as an ornament. The blade was like any other, but different at the same time. Physically, the only difference he could see was that the blade was lined with a thin red dye all along the cutting edge.

"Incredible." He breathed, entranced by its simple beauty.

He heard a click behind him, and turned to see the door was open.

Naruto peered outside and left the room. The door swung shut by itself as soon as he was clear of it.

Outside, Arano was waiting patiently, looking to have dozed off in his chair. Naruto walked up to Arano, who opened his eyes suddenly and exclaimed:

"Ah! You're the first one!" He placed his hand over Naruto's face and came away with most of a mask, a pointy crack marked where the second half should be. It was the smooth surface that had clung to Naruto's face.

"Hmm…interesting." said Arano. "Here, you'd better keep this." Arano showed him how to store the mask in his robe. They sat together to wait for Sakura and Sasuke to come out, or for signs that they weren't coming out at all.

After what seemed like hours of waiting, the second door opened. Sakura came limping out, breathing heavily. She was clothed in the same black robe as any ordinary Shinigami, a katana with a pink grip and spindly hand guard at her side.

"Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, running to help her.

She held up her hand to stop him and collapsed in a corner, exhausted.

Moments later, Sasuke walked coolly out of his door, in the proper attire of a Shinigami. His sleeves, too, were adorned with fiery lines, but his were dark red. His katana mirrored his outfit, with a blood red grip.

"I'm impressed!" Said Arano, clapping. "I didn't expect you all to survive! I would've tried it myself, as a much younger lad!" He sighed and continued: "Now, you'll notice you're now armed with swords. These are called Soul Slayers, or zanpakutou. These are a Death God's main weapon. They never rust, but they can break you push them too hard against a more powerful opponent.

Just so you know, everyone's is different. Your swords each come from your hearts and souls, and there are no two alike. Got all that?"

"Yeah." Said Naruto, absorbed in his own thoughts of the ordeal he'd just been through.

"Sure." Sakura seemed to be only partly awake, and dead tired.

"Mm-hmm." Sasuke had the strangest look of all. The reflection in his eyes showed that he had been through something extraordinary…

"Good, you catch on quickly. One important thing to note is how you came to obtain your swords. Like I said, everyone's is different. So too will your relationship with your sword, and with the entity inside. Most likely, you met that entity during the transformation.

"Yeah." Shuddered Sakura.

Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah! You're not gonna believe this! Mine was –"

Stop! Commanded Arano, hushing Naruto.

"What you saw was for you and you alone." He chided him, "don't speak of it to anyone. Among Shinigami, anything regarding your zanpakutou is regarded as highly personal. It is very rude to mention something so close to someone."

Naruto didn't understand, but was too exhausted to complain. He and his teammates were taken to separate rooms on the second floor of the training lodge. More dragged than taken, they all felt numb yet at the same time there was an exhilarating chill in the air.


	9. To Know Your Soul

Generally considered the laziest person in Konoha, Naruto had made a habit of sleeping in. Never as much as now. For days on end he found he couldn't convince himself to move in the slightest. As the time passed, he found himself feeling more and more comfortable in his new spirit body, until he wasn't even sure it wasn't flesh-and-blood.

Though he had lost track of time, Naruto could tell by the open window beside the cot in which he lay that it was nighttime. He began experimenting again with his spirit limbs, moving one by one a little at a time. He stubbornly decided that today would be the day he stood up.

He flung himself with all his strength to his feet, managing to hit himself particularly hard as he fell to the rough wooden floor. There he lay until a knock sounded at his door.

"Come in." Naruto muttered into the hard floor.

"Whoa kid! Take it easy!" Arano pulled him back onto the bed, where he found he could now sit upright.

"Didn't I mention this was experimental procedure?" Arano asked him, laughter twinkling in his eyes. "You shouldn't be up and around yet!"

"How long have I been in here?" Naruto looked back outside at the starry sky. "I can't tell."

"Hey, you guys are all new to Soul Society, so it's normal that you can't tell time." He patted him on the shoulder," Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough!"

Arano stood up and went to the door. Still looking away, he said in a low voice: "I know what you're thinking. You're not the only one that went through what you did in that room. Your black-haired friend suffered somethin' fierce, he just had enough sense to hide his mask."

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah. As for the girl, I honestly have no idea. You were the only one that came out actually wearing your mask."

"What does it mean?" Naruto flopped back onto the bed, unable to even sit up.

"The mask, "Began Arano," is an extension of yourself, like your zanpakutou, except.." Here he started to look uneasy.

"Except what?"

"Well, normally human souls can't just up and turn Shinigami. Otherwise, everyone would be doing it! So, our R&D department came up with this little idea.

Naruto just listened, trying to understand.

"You see we Death Gods have had quite a history of experimenting with souls, unfortunately. One of the turnouts of those experiments was a soul that gained Shinigami powers during a Hollow transformation. The souls that survived the experiment gained some different qualities, and we found that it is the only reasonable way of creating a Shinigami quickly. After all, we couldn't wait for you to die!"

"…"

"Kid?" Arano looked over at Naruto, to find his head sagging, and faint snores could be heard.

Arano grumbled and shook him awake.

"R-right!" Naruto shot up. "R&D Shinigami Swallow transformation! Got it!"

Arano just grumbled again and helped Naruto stand. "C'mon, your teammates want to see ya."

Naruto was carried out the door, limp legs dangling along, and to the room next door, in which Sasuke and Sakura were both already propped up.

"Good to know it's not just me." Laughed Naruto, looking at them. Sasuke was sitting up against the headboard of his bead, and Sakura was having a difficult time not slipping out of her chair.

Sasuke attempted a rude gesture, but found he didn't have the energy for it. Sakura just glared.

Arano tossed Naruto down on the bed at Sasuke's feet, taking a chair opposite Sakura for himself. They were in a lopsided circle, and Arano began.

"Ahem. Uh, as I'm sure you've noticed," He said uncomfortably, gesturing towards Sakura, who was frantically trying in vain to hold on to the armrests of her chair, "your bodies take some getting used to." He cleared his throat.

Sasuke attempted another rude gesture, but still couldn't manage it.

Sakura simply said " How are we supposed to go through any training if we can't even move!?!?" As she said this, she slipped completely off the chair and onto the floor. _Case in point._ She thought angrily.

"Yes, well…" Arano sat her back in her chair. "Perhaps you can speed up your recovery, but this…" He muttered, "May or may not have been attempted before."

"We must be really good guinea pigs." Naruto commented drily.

Arano ignored him and continued. "Your souls are now your bodies. Whereas before you functioned in your body, now you function through your soul as if it were your body. Normally, one would spend some time as a ghost to first get used to the feeling."

The three looked at one another, all thinking the same thing: _We're _actually_ going to die now? __For real this time?_

Arano saw the look pass between them and hastily continued. "Not that I would do that to you. Besides, it's too late for that. You're already Shinigami. So now the only quick fix is to get to know your bodies; get to know your souls."

Again, a glance between the three proposed a question: _The hell's this guy __talkin__' about?_

"I hope you recall what I told you a few days ago: your zanpakutou is a part of you. It is your soul embodied in a weapon. The best way to know your soul is through your zanpakutou."

Sasuke looked at his sword, lying beside him in his bed. It seemed menacing, threatening, just by being near him. _I know enough about you as it is…_

Sakura's sword glinted, resting against her chair. _Maybe_, she thought, _I could try to know you._

Naruto's eyes were helplessly drawn to his sword, still looped through his sash. His fingers played over the hilt, as he thought about what lay inside it. _Whether I want to or not,_ he thought,_ we're going to have to work togethe__r on this._


	10. Identity

_Man, this is stupid. _Naruto sat on the floor of his room, backed up against the wall. Arano had set him down, placed his sword on his lap, and told him to meditate on a certain idea: "If an unbeatable sword meets an invincible opponent, what will decide the winner?"

_I don't even know _how _to meditate! _He thought grumpily. _Not to mention that question is bogus. If there's an unbeatable sword and an invincible opponent, they wouldn't fight! __Right?__ Or maybe they'd just fight forever… __Hmmm…_

In another room, Sasuke had also been placed against the wall on the floor. He had been told to meditate on something he had judged ridiculous, holding his sword close. As soon as Arano had left his room, Sasuke had used every whisper of his remaining strength to throw the sword as far away as he could. Currently it lay on the floor, daring him to even look at it. He stared at the wall opposite him, imagining ways of defeating an invincible opponent.

Sakura snored, her head lolling against the wall. Her sword was braced against the edge of the bed, holding her up while she dozed. In her head, bizarre dreams played themselves out:

Long walks in a forest with Sasuke, just the two of them. As they walked, happily holding hands, the forest began to crumble around them. Leaves fell from treetops and glowing rocks rained down on them as the previously bright sky grew murky. As soon as they were safe from the collapsing forest, an enormous shadow slithered before them. It made no sound, but Sakura knew it was laughing at them. And it scared her. Beyond reason, it scared her. She whipped out a kunai, but found herself instead holding a sword. Dimly she remembered it was her zanpakutou.

The shadow stretched itself up, detaching itself from the ground and gaining mass. When next she dared look, it loomed over her like a blackish-blue statue. It had no facial features; no eyes, yet she knew it was looking at her. Sasuke valiantly tried to attack the monster, but upon touching the dark substance of its flesh, could not move away.

"Sakura!" He screamed, as his arm was slowly pulled into the fabric of the shadow's skin. "Sakura!" It had taken most of him in, only his head remained above the surface. Wisps of his long hair began tugging at his head, sucking him under with them. "Sak-" His voice was drowned out as he coughed and sputtered. Slowly his entire head sank beneath the surface of the shadow's skin.

Sakura could only watch with horror, her eyes registered the fear she felt. _What…is it? It's too big…it's unbeatable…invincible…_

Sasuke's last yell rang in her ears as she tried to look up at the colossal shadow. _Invincible._

She looked down at the blade of her sword, and thought, or rather felt, that it looked back at her.

"Heyyyy, you're not so thick after all!"

Sakura stiffened, looking around for the owner of the voice. It had come from nowhere, echoing from every direction in her ears.

"Helloooooooo… I know you can hear me!" Continued the voice in a high-pitched whine.

"Who's there?" Her eyes bolted around, looking for the voice. Even the massive shadow seemed to be curious as to what she was doing.

"C'mon. We both know you know who I am. Well… _I _know anyway. _You_ just haven't been listening."

Her eyes fell on her sword and it felt so right she didn't even question the impossibility of a talking sword.

"Yeah, damn right you don't question me."

"Whoah, whoah slow down!" Sakura said, making a time-out sign with her free hand. "You can _talk!?!?_"

"Oooohhh…we got ourselves a quick learner here."

Veins bulged, tempers flared, but Sakura forced herself to remain calm. "That room… I knew your voice sounded familiar! You're that guy from before!"

"Correct-a-mundo!" Exclaimed the voice sarcastically, "I am your zanpakutou, so let's not forget the favor you owe me. I did make you a Shinigami after all." Though she couldn't see him, Sakura could imagine him looking high-and-mighty at that moment.

_Screw that! _She thought. _Only favor I'm gonna do is melt you into a teaspoon!_

_Now, now._ The voice could project into her head! _That's not nice. Besides, I doubt a teaspoon will be much use against _that_ thing. _Sakura looked back at the shadow, which had taken to beating its knuckles into an open palm.

_Of course, if you'd rather use a spoon…_

_No! Wait! _Sakura pleaded, _I need your help! This thing ate Sasuke-kun, but he might still be alive in there! You have to help me!_

_Is that so? _The voice answered, dripping sarcasm. _Then we must help poor little Sakura now mustn't we?_

_I don't believe this. I'm talking to a voice in my head, claiming to be a sword, and _it's_ back talking _me_? No way!_

"Look here you piece of tinfoil!" She was so mad she'd said it aloud. "If you're part of me, then you do what I say! You're like an extension of me, right? Then you have to listen to me!"

"Sorry, sister. It don't work that way." The voice kept on, unperturbed.

The faintest of smiles found its way to her lips as she took the metal of the blade in one hand, the grip in the other. Ever so slowly, she applied more and more pressure to it. She could feel the voice's discomfort as she pulled harder down on both sides, a maniacal grin plastered all over her face.

The formerly razor-thin line of the blade began arcing slightly, despite the voice's pleading.

"Wait wait wait!" It said hurriedly, _before this psycho snaps her__ own soul__ in half! _"I'll help you! I promise! Please, just…stop…"

Sakura eased up a little, doubting already whether sword's promise could be trusted. "You promise? You'll do what I ask from now on?"

"Yes! I promise! Now LET GO!"

"Deal." Sakura gladly released the blade, holding it before her in a fighting position.

The shadow bent over Sakura, reaching for her. The expressionless face remained blank, but Sakura knew it was angry. Angry at her.

She made the first strike. Never even flinching, her sword sliced through the creature's head. Well, it _should _have. It went in one temple, and came out cleanly the other, without leaving so much as a scratch.

_The hell?_ "Hey, why isn't it working!?!" She yelled at the sword. It glinted innocently.

"Know my name, for it will decide the power we hold in your hand."

"What?"

"My name! My name is Hotaru."

"What does that matter? Tell me how to beat this thing!"

"I just did." Hotaru's usually shrill voice toned down to a more normal pitch, gaining a deeply pacifying effect. "Knowing my name is an important first step. Remember, what you're holding there isn't just any sword, it's your soul. It's me. Knowing my name means you have begun to know yourself."

Sakura faced down the shadow, thinking deeply about her sword- no, Hotaru's wise words.

"You got that? You need to call my name to use my power!" He said loudly in her head, "Now! Say:…"

"Glow among the trees! Hotaru!"

The instant the words left her lips, Sakura felt drained, like she hadn't slept in days. If not for her sword glowing, she would have collapsed from exhaustion. This new light bisected the blade once, then twice, three times… Before a second had passed, she had lost track of how many times the blade had split itself. Once more it split, then the blade fell apart. The thin particles of hardened steel trickled down around one another, linking together again in a long chain of sharp edges.

Sakura stared at what had once been her sword, but now was looped around her arm… A whip, comprised of small, square-shaped pieces of her sword! She could see the glint of the razor-thin edges along every inch of it, and knew exactly how she would use them.

She looked up again at the shadow, it had been creeping toward her while she was embroiled in her thoughts. She flung the whip away from her arm, and it fell in a series of loops next to her. Now she flew into action, a blur of motion followed by a trail of fatal blades. She lanced out with the tip of her whip at the shadow's stomach, and felt a satisfying catch. She yanked the chains back and saw the long wound it had left in the shadow's body. She struck repeatedly, leaving many such injuries all over it.

While racing in circles, Sakura thought she'd never felt more alive, despite her aching limbs. The cool steel handle, still wrapped in the comfortable pink material of her sword grip, felt natural in her hand. It felt like it belonged there.

She lashed at one side of the shadow's thick neck, then leaped around the creature before the whip was yanked free. She ran the length of the sharp blades once around its neck, then braced herself behind it and pulled with all the strength she had left. The chain whip tightened around the creature's neck, biting into Sakura's arms as she doubled her grip on it.

Gritting her teeth, she gave one last enormous pull and the loops of steel cut into the creature, then through it entirely. The enormous shadowy head dissolved before it could hit the ground, and the rest of its mangled body fell lifeless on the floor. It too bled away, leaving behind an unconscious boy.

Sakura had never felt so relieved in her life. She relaxed her death grip on the whip for the first time in what felt like years, and it too sighed and thankfully shrank back into the shape of a katana. Not a second too late, Sakura plunged it into the ground, in need of something to hold her up. Her eyelids began to droop as tiredness took over.

As soon as she felt the warm embrace of sleep around her, she became aware of a peculiar feeling against her back, and the most annoying pain in her ribs. As her eyes closed on Sasuke and the sword in her hand, her eyes opened back to the peacefulness of her room in Soul Society, and the bed across from her spot on the floor. She moved her sword from where it was prodding her in the ribs, and stumbled her way over to the hard, unforgiving bed. For all she felt, it was made of clouds.


	11. Ipseity

Sasuke grumbled as the light started to fade outside. The sharp angles cast on him by the setting sun irritated him for no reason other than that they were there. Well, that and because the elongated shadow of his sword, still lying across the room where he'd thrown it, was almost long enough to reach him.

_What's the big deal? It's just a shadow._ Even in his head, he sounded scared. Not on the surface, but anyone that knew him would read the current of underlying apprehension in his voice. _What is it about that thing? Why do I get like this just thinking about her?_

The sword still sat there, its shadow stretching by centimeters closer.

"Dammit!" He cursed aloud, knocking his head back against the wall. _I feel like I'm some kind of criminal, like I'm just waiting for someone to walk by and pick me off. What is this feeling?_

_Ahh, darling. That is a little thing I call fear._

_You! _ He thought acidly, turning to glare at the sword. It hadn't budged all day, but the corner of its shadow had finally fallen partway on his leg.

_You can't be surprised to see me. Why so scared? _Her voice was smooth as velvet, seductive, and alluring by nature. It gave the impression of thinly restrained lust, as if at any moment the voice's owner would leap out and take you for herself. Sasuke felt himself being pulled toward the voice, irresistibly close.

"Leave me alone." He said stoically, once again staring at the wall in an attempt to ignore her. This would have been more effective if the wall hadn't become decorated with swords, all suddenly identical to his.

His eyes widened, confusion took root, next anger.



"Get out of my head!" He yelled at all the swords, at the wall, at the room itself. "Why are you doing this?!"

_Relax, dearest. Look at me. _She spoke poison, uttered silk. Sasuke found he couldn't help but calm down. _After all, _he thought, _she's part of me. How could she harm me?_

Now thoroughly calm, Sasuke looked back at his sword, stupidly happy. This was mistake no. 1.

In place of the sheathed sword on the floor, a girl stood passively waiting for him. Her kimono, the darkest shade of blue, swirled a leg's length above her bare feet. A snow-white pattern of interloping waves stood out in contrast on the front, lacing back and forth, in and out endlessly. A deep, red sash accented her waist, and the kimono top parted in just the right place.

Sasuke's eyes continued their upward investigation, still too stupefied to react. He lingered on her cheeks, a single shade paler than her, noticing that he couldn't look her in the eye. He stared at her lips; a deep scarlet reminiscent of blood, her hair; blacker than should be possible. Anything to avoid looking at her eyes.

"My love, what's wrong?" She asked him delicately. He was mesmerized by the movement of her lips as she spoke, the soft whisper as the words left her tongue.

"Don't be so coy," She laughed, a rippling melody of vibrant, rich notes. Softly, barely through her lips, she said: "Look…at…me…" She came slowly towards Sasuke, hands held out as if ready for an embrace long overdue.

Here he committed his next error, mistake no.2.

He looked in her eyes. Not just at them, _in _them. Normally a topic of ceaseless fascination to him, he knew with every cell in his body that he _did not want_ to look at her eyes. Yet he did, and did so for a long time. They were perfect in every way; tilted so slightly as to provoke an exotic appeal, but open and as 

reflective as water in the early morning. They were a loving shade of brown, with flecks of a darker color strewn with it.

_She's beautiful_. Sasuke caught himself and added,_ for a sword…_

"Come now dearest." She said sweetly, sitting next to him on her heels. She leaned over lovingly and pressed her shoulder against Sasuke's bare arm. It felt like water had been woven into silk and used to make her robe.

Sasuke looked over her, dumbly pleased with the attention he was getting.

_Wait- what? What did you to me-? _His voice echoed in his own head, but never managed to entice the rest of himself into caring. Most of him was at the moment preoccupied with the lovely woman before him.

"No no, Sasuke, you're too tense." She slipped her hands around his neck, gently feeling out his every pain and pleasure, stroking his long hair. "No need for so much tension with little _me_."

He sighed deeply. _Of course not. She's here, everything will be fine. _He actually believed it, not noticing at all when she replied to his unspoken comment.

"That's right," She answered, "now, why don't you do a little something for me? I could _really _keep you company if…" Here she slipped her hand through the folds of his shirt, playing her lithe hands about his skin seductively.

"If what?" He asked innocently, staring helplessly into her enchanting eyes.

"If…" She began quietly, whispering so that he could see every wisp of breath leave her lips, so he longed to feel them… "You would let me out of this stupid little toy." She threw a venomous glance at 

the sword, now propped in the nook of her elbow, the handle conveniently placed between the folds where her kimono top came together.

"I… guess that wouldn't be…so bad." He struggled with the words through clenched teeth, as the tiny reason in the back of his head fought to be heard.

"No," She smiled perfectly, laying against him. "It wouldn't."

Sasuke took the sword from its resting place and pulled it from its sheath, his eyes gaining a new light.

The girl stood gracefully and Sasuke followed. It never occurred to him to think it strange that he could suddenly move when before he had been crippled.

He held the sword out at arm's length, sighting down the long, straight edge.

"Now just give it to me." Said the girl, eyes dancing happily from him to the sword. "Kneel and present me with the handle."

"But…" Sasuke pleaded, " won't you at least tell me your name? I mean, if we're going to…" He stopped short of implying anything.

"Oh! Of course my love…" Breathed the girl quickly, her eyes now fixed on the sword. "Call me Hitomi."

"Good." He shifted the sword in his hand, watching the light glance off it, "Hitomi, I don't believe I've ever seen eyes as beautiful as yours."

"Yes, thank you, now-" Annoyance flashed across her face, and she looked up at Sasuke to softly imply her adoration, only to be met by deep, red eyes, accusing and scathingly fearless.



Surprise hardly had time to register on her features before he threw the full weight of his body behind the point of the sword and struck. He dealt a clean blow across her midsection, but it had blown through her, disturbing her image only as it would fog.

Her eyes no longer radiated love and compassion, but a cold gripping power that startled Sasuke despite himself. Sharingan glared at the woman, who glared back with some unknown force behind her every gesture.

"Hmph." She tossed her hair around and turned, walking back towards the window. "Fine." Her voice was no longer smooth or alluring, but harsh and even derisive, insulting by nature. "I don't care what you do, kid. You know my name, so feel free to abuse of me however you want."

To this, Sasuke said nothing.

"Just know, little Sasuke," She regained some of her previous sickly sweetness, "I'll always be right there." Her eyes darted to the blade in his hand. "I'm never more than a hair's width away, and I will have my freedom." These last words she spit at him, so acidly he almost cringed. But that would have been a fatal mistake. Only his Sharingan was protecting him from the sword-girl's illusions, he could not even blink for a second.

Sated, she turned and briskly vanished, along with the last of the sun's rays beneath the horizon of Soul Society.


	12. Acclimation

A/N Hey guys! This is my first note in this story! Just checkin in, hope you like it so far! Be warned though, I have changed some small details from both animes to help them fit each other and my poor excuse for a plot. I say souls don't need to eat in Soul Society, but I remember the group getting hungry while there in Bleach. Oh well! Deal with it, do it for me! The story will turn out that much better! Thanks, now on with the show…

After a day of meditation, all three were anxious to get out of their rooms. Now that they could move around, Soul Society itself awaited them! Sasuke and Sakura both held concerned looks in their eyes, saying that "a day's worth of relaxing" was what had enabled them to move. Naruto eagerly agreed, adding how he'd never slept so soundly for an entire day before.

He had actually slept it off.

_I wonder if their swords are like Hitomi. _The thought of his sword's mistress still unsettled Sasuke.

_Hope that Hotaru will keep quiet. _Sakura thought, glancing at the two beside her. _Just hearing his voice annoys the hell outta me!_

_Whew!_ Naruto's head was still stuffy and half-asleep. A day-long nap will do that.

"So…" He said, to break the strangely awkward silence that had hung around them all morning, "is this guy gonna turn out like Kakashi-sensei? I mean he's already late!"

"It's hard enough dealing with _one_ sensei. I don't need another that's a spirit." Sakura commented drily, sincerely wishing she was back home in the comfort of her own bed.

Sasuke didn't even bother to acknowledge them.

"Ahh! Good to see you three already up and about!" Arano strode in, too happy to be contained by a single person.

Naruto cleared his throat loudly. "I hope you know you're _late_!"

Arano simply waved him off. "Don't worry about it! By the way," He noted, holding up his index finger very matter-of-factly. "You've probably noticed by now that you're not hungry even after the while you guys have been here!" He laughed heartily, at some joke only he understood. "Or did you think I was just a bad host?"

_I don't know, it might have just been some other _unorthodox_ training crap! _Naruto thought.

"Yes well," He continued. "Souls don't need to eat! Soul Society itself is made of energy, so you'll absorb your daily suggested serving of carbs and proteins straight from the air! Not that carbs exist anywhere but in the living world! Ah, stupid people!"

He received three blank stares (Yep. Count 'em. Three.), all explicitly questioning his sanity.

"Bummer." Naruto said, looking sadly at his stomach. He rubbed it out of pity.

"No matter!" Burst Arano, "Now you know why we will be skipping breakfast! If ever you see someone eating here, they're doing it purely for its entertainment value! And we have no time for entertainment!"

"Umm…So, what's on the agenda that's so important?" Sakura asked meekly, afraid to excite him any more.



"Training!" He declared gaily, in a sing-song voice. "Me, a weapons master, gets picked to _train _you! Ahhh I love my job!"

"Don't see why we can't have some fun with that. Sounds plenty entertaining." Sasuke pitched in, his mood lightened by Arano whether he wanted it to be or not.

"Oh noooo." Boomed Arano, "it will be heaps of fun! For me, anyway. It's you guys I'm not so sure about…"

"Well," Sakura said, trying her best not to strangle her new teacher,"let's not waste any time then!" The cheap laugh inserted after clued in her teammates to how mad she was. Hurriedly, they pushed Arano down the entrance hallway and back out the main door.

"All he needs is a green jumpsuit…" Naruto whispered to Sasuke on the way out.

"I know."

"Actually…" Arano stopped in his tracks just outside the building. "Guys, I've just had a thought! If you took my advice, you spent yesterday getting to know your new spirit bodies."

Two pained glances and an innocent stare later, he continued: "Even so, that's no substitute for good ol'-fashioned exercise!"

Naruto's mind played out images of the four of them running laps around Soul Society on their hands in green spandex.

"The horror…"



Ignoring this, Arano stood straighter. "I'll give you…let's say…an hour. Jump around for a bit, do whatever you like, then meet back here. Just don't get lost."

"Gotcha, Arano-sensei." Sakura answered.

"Not _sensei_," He corrected, "call me Captain." With this he shut his eyes and lay down on the spot. The ensuing snoring was incredible, even for a dead person.

Sasuke didn't wait around, grabbing Naruto by the collar of his robe and dragging him along for the trip as he leaped away. Sakura, though curious enough that it hurt, ignored this and went her own way.

"H-hey! Lemme go!"

Sasuke obliged, letting Naruto fall to the floor with a thump.

Naruto stood up, rubbing his bruised behind. "What was that about? If you wanted to talk to me alone, you coulda just said so!"

"Not in front of Sakura." He replied, "I started to feel that weird energy again yesterday, only it was more intense. I feel like it's everywhere now. I don't know if it's dangerous or not, but it's gotten into everything."

"I don't feel it. You sure you're not just paranoid?"

"Shut up. Just concentrate! You felt it before, remember?"

"Yeah, but I was-"He stopped suddenly, and whirled around. "Sasuke!" He whispered over his shoulder sharply.



"What? What happened?" Sasuke's face flashed a worried look as he tried to read Naruto's expression.

"It's…nearby…" Naruto said, involved in his thoughts. His eyes flicked from place to place as he pondered. "It's coming from…"

Sasuke suddenly felt a pulse of the energy, he turned and joined Naruto in saying:

"YOU!"

The two jumped backwards away from the other, each suspecting something wrong. Sasuke started: "What the hell! _You're_ the one pushing out that energy!"

"Am not!" Naruto retorted. " I think YOU are!"

At that moment, a pair of girls in the traditional black kimono walked past, giggling at the stupid boys starting a fight.

"Hey…" Naruto said under his breath, "Sasuke, hold on."

"What?" Came the annoyed response.

"They have it too." He gestured at the girls, now a distance away.

"What do you-"A sudden bright understanding filled his eyes. At the same time, Naruto's senses were set aflame. The weird, pulsing energy they had felt days before now came through clearly and evenly, from everywhere at once.



Naruto looked around, paranoid. "The hell is this? It's everywhere?"

"Wait, I have an idea. Come on, I want to ask Arano first." Sasuke hopped on the nearest roof and made his way back towards the training lodge. Naruto followed, afraid of getting lost in this place with some alien force lurking behind every corner. At least, so he thought.

Sasuke vaulted off the top of some unknown complex and plummeted straight down to the tiled floor before the lodge. This normally fatal fall resulted in a completely normal landing, with Sasuke looking his own legs up and down with newfound respect.

Naruto came rushing behind, a black-and-orange blur. Spirit legs carried a bit farther than flesh and bone, as he had discovered. The inevitable trip over a raised tile resulted in a completely normal face flop. Naruto just grumbled into the floor, refusing to get up at all.

Arano emerged from the lodge, wearing his overly happy grin still. "I see you discovered the upside to not having a body!" He laughed loudly and patted Naruto affectionately on the back, as affectionate as a sledgehammer.

Sasuke interrupted him and went straight for the meat of the matter: " Is chakra different when you die?" He couldn't help but feel the same odd energy around Arano as well.

"Hmm…" Arano straightened himself out, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "…What's chakra?"

Sasuke stared. Naruto found it in him to stand up and stared too.

A crisp laughter interrupted them all. Sakura was nearing them, having overheard their question.

"Is _that_ what you guys were doing this whole time?"



Naruto looked at Sasuke. Sasuke looked at Naruto. They both looked at Sakura and simply shrugged.

She sighed, already annoyed. "I spent my hour gathering information, like a real ninja should! Not," She added, "that I'm including _you_ Sasuke-kun."

She cleared her throat and entered lecture mode; Naruto sat and prepared to fall asleep.

"I felt this really different vibe on the day we got here, so I went and asked around Rukongai. That's what this place is called," She added, gesturing widely at the area around them. "I found out from some other newcomers that it's called reiatsu. It's like the Shinigami version of chakra, but I don't think they're the same."

Here she kicked Naruto to wake him from his peaceful slumber. He sputtered and jumped to his feet.

"Hahahahahha!!" Laughed Arano openly. Wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Well done, miss Sakura! There's your explanation, you kids!" He turned to Sasuke and Naruto.

Naruto turned red, but Sasuke just looked away grumpily. _Why didn't I think of that?_

"Sorry to say it, you three. Buuuuut…." He cringed comically, "you're going to have to relearn to control yourselves. Think of it like a reboot; you need to, erm… find your preferences and get used to things in general. You know, learn to tone it down. Otherwise your own bodies will drive you nuts!"

"I'll try." Said Naruto, face still hurting from its unexpected encounter with the tiles.

"Perfect!" Burst out Arano, losing all shame and regaining his all-encompassing grin. "Now! Let's REALLY get to it! Time to train!!"



Fearing for their lives, the three new Shinigami followed him over rooftops. He bounced along gleefully, moving deceptively fast. Thoughts of horrible torture- umm, _training_ sessions, filled their imaginations.

Arano flew to the next complex and bounced off it too, whistling all the way.


End file.
